Jan. 22, 2018 – A conference ideally offers opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of developments that can positively impact your business and hopefully implement those changes at the right time. Today, we’re all hearing a LOT of chatter about Industry 4.0 and various ideas built around automation – taking advantage of sophisticated equipment combined with high tech software and presumably, people capable of making it work!

FenCon18 will seek to deliver a combination of those solution providers while at the same time creating the environment for there to be some engagement with peers as well as some of those experts. Lets just examine a few of those elements. Joseph Machine Company (http://www.josephmachineco.com) is a well established supplier of relatively sophisticated equipment to the window and door manufacturing industry. Located in Pennsylvania, the company is led by a team of knowledgeable design and application engineers working in the midst of a large and well-equipped plant. Additionally, Joseph is staffed by several sales engineers who have spent many years listening to and responding to the needs of window factories and production managers. Dale Treftz – featuring some 20 plus years of experience – will be on hand participating in a seminar session on production automation. Dale – featuring some ideas and concepts developed by Joseph Machinery – will also be a part of Automation Technology Corner or “ATC” at FenCon18. Notably, experienced fenestration engineers and managers from companies such as Milgard and Loewen Windows speak very highly of Dale’s unique abilities to listen to the needs of a process or product and creatively develop automation solutions! “I’ve known and worked with Dale for many years. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience related to equipment and automation specific to the window and door industry,” says Gary Blad, Director, Engineering at Loewen Windows and Doors. And continuing with a similar thought process, “I’ve found Dale Treftz to be an excellent resource. He listens to your needs and then uses his extensive experience in the industry to develop some interesting alternative solutions from within the Joseph Machine Company extensive resources,” say Dave Volk, Senior Manufacturing VP at Milgard (www.milgard.com).Switching to the software side, Matt Batcha and AJ Piscitelli of FeneTech ERP Software (http://fenetech.com) will also be key elements of ATC! Fenetech comes to the conference with specific Experience in developing and implementing ERP systems within medium to large size window and door manufacturing companies. Matt, an experienced software expert says, “Our customers have always found our system intuitive and easy to use, but overall, they’re becoming more comfortable with technology in general. They’re also beginning to see that their customers have expectations that are in line with the latest developments in consumer-driven technology such as remote quoting and ordering, the ability to easily choose options, and rapid delivery times.” Furthermore, Matt and AJ bring unique hands on knowledge and experience of these installations and “how to” implementations. Better yet, AJ has been close enough to the sophisticated equipment side that he has gained some special insights into the unique communication gaps that can be bridged with improved software and communication tools. Again, AJ and Matt will be involved in seminar and training sessions at FenCon18 PLUS they will be featuring FeneVision within Automation Technology Corner. “One of the great things we see with Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things is the opportunity for all of the major players within a production facility—the machinery, the software provider, and the suppliers—to be interconnected, says AJ, implementation expert at FeneTech. “The possibilities, then, are both wide and varied, and the companies that take advantage of this concept can expect to increase their productivity, decrease their machinery down-time, and improve the overall management of their product.“

Automation Technology Corner at FenCon18 will feature a number of these specialized and highly qualified companies with equally qualified experts to engage window and door manufacturing personnel, seeking to resolve specific problems or a broader set of considerations on how a manufacturing plant can possibly navigate its way forward from whatever stages of 1.0 or 2.0 or 3.0 into the future with variations of 4.0!